Graph 14

Graph 14

                First things first. In order to even get started on my remodeling project, it is necessary for me to write out a budget. I know already that my grand total will be somewhere around $400 to $500 dollars. If I individualize each material being used for this project I could possibly find some money saving offers. I know that I will be needing to buy an array of paint brushes, rollers and a paint tray. Or I could just grab a package at Wal-Mart for $5. It comes with, 2 rollers, a couple paint brushes and the paint tray. By measuring the length of all the walls and height I came up with about 572 square feet that needs to be painted, so I figured that I am going to need about 2 gallons of paint, doing at least 3 coats.

The idea that I have for colors are, purple on two walls with pink polka dots and pink on the other two walls with purple polka dots. So I will need a gallon of each color. I’ve priced quite a few places such as home depot and Lowes. Wal-Mart seems to be the cheapest, as usual. About 20 bucks a gallon. They also have accent pieces (that are stick on) and letters which would be a great idea for the polka dots and my daughter’s name, and those are only $10 a package.

                The flooring I think will be the easiest part of the project. Marden’s has really cheap flooring for about $150 dollars, and even though they are cheap they feel quite sturdy and look very easy to clean or to replace if needed. Instead of doing a plain, wooden floor, I’m doing what they call fun floors. They are pink and purple with polka dots and it’s just squares that click together but eventually will have to be cut to fit. Before I put the flooring in I need to lay down some floor padding. It helps with insulating, reduces hardness of the floor, and also keeps your floor from cracking or sliding out of place. I originally was going to replace the entire ceiling fan. Instead ill just get some new colorful blades that match the room’s colors, and switch out the old light bulbs for new energy efficient ones.

                I have a couple of other idea’s that can maximize the amount of space in the room and create them myself by saving money. We all know that headboards are quite expensive, so I’ve come up with the idea of building one myself. By using spare wood from left over projects, a few yards of foam, colorful fabric and a staple gun,  I can easily have a nice looking headboard. The other idea I have is somehow creating a desk for my daughter to do her homework at, but yet still have enough space in her room without a whole desk taking it all up. Say I have a flat sanded board (of some sort), about 4 feet long and 3 feet wide, slab some chalkboard paint on one side and hang it up on the wall. But somehow being able to fold it down off the wall, kind of like one of those diaper changing stations you see in public restrooms (kind of a weird reference, but it’s all I got!) Then when you’re all done using it, fold it back up and use it as a chalkboard to draw on! Sounds good to me, but I won’t know if it really works until its finished and tested out.

                So that’s my plan, and I’m sticking to it, probably running into a couple of problems along the way but I won’t let it get my spirits down. My goal was to try and stay under $500 dollars, but with research, a little penny pinching, and a few “build it myself” projects, I might create this dream room a lot cheaper than I expected!